"N-no... you are lying!"
Sean’s eyes were bloodshot. He was more than angry and frustrated. He couldn’t imagine Eloise killing their unborn child. But at the back of his mind, he knew it was possible. If she only used him and pretended she loved him, she wouldn’t care.
"Don’t be a fool, Officer Devitt," Lauren said.
Sean looked down and pressed his eyes shut, suppressing his tears.
After a long minute of silence, with his head still down, Sean spoke.
"I’m a healer mage."
Hearing what the officer confessed, Lauren grew more curious.
"If you are a healer mage, why are you pretending to be a human then?"
Healer mages were those born with the ability to cast spells in making medicines and heal others with their energy. They usually inherited their skills from their parents and ancestors, but the power they held differed from one bloodline to another.
"I’m a descendant of Thaddeus Sheffield. He is my grandfather. Due to the fear that people will find out my ancestry, I decided to lead a human life."
Thaddeus Sheffield was a known healer mage in Evardin four decades ago. He was the physician of King Tobias, Lauren’s grandfather, but as far as she knew, the royal family ordered that everyone in his bloodline would carry the burden of his sin and should be executed as a traitor after he was proven guilty of poisoning the king to death. As it happened a long time ago, she didn’t know much about it.
"But Thaddeus’ whole clan was wiped out decades ago."
Sean shook his head, a frail smile tugged on his lips. "Everyone believes that is the case, but my father, Thaddeus’ nephew, managed to survive. He left Evardin and lived in Acheron pretending as a human. Unfortunately, he was a scum so my mother left him and she brought me to Evardin. I thought I could keep my promise to my mother before she died, to never reveal my identity as a healer mage as one might notice the similarity of my ways to my grandfather’s, but two years ago I met a woman in the west forest, she was injured and I didn’t have a heart to just leave her there unattended. The woman was Eloise and that was how I met your sister."
Tears glistened in Sean’s eyes as he recalled bittersweet memories.
"I know I’m a fool. When I knew she was a princess, I should have distanced myself. I shouldn’t have let my simple admiration turn into something else. It was so ambitious of me to dream to be his man. My obsession brought me here."
"You said you would rather die than say anything earlier. I assume it is Eloise you wanted to protect. Now you know that she betrayed you, there is no point in keeping what you know about her. I don’t care about your bloodline. I care about what Eloise is doing in the shadows," said Lauren as she had a strong feeling that her sister had her own dirt and she wanted to know if none of the members of the royal family was conspiring with the rebels. After all, one would never know how people’s minds exactly worked.
"Eloise had been doing forbidden sorcery for some time now. She is slowly turning into a black mage and if not for me, she would have already run wild. I don’t have the power to stop her from turning into a black mage but I can suppress the black mage’s blood that was slowly growing in her through a special medicine."
Hearing this, Alec said, "I heard about the special medicine that could suppress the black mage’s blood in one’s body for some time, but most healer mages don’t do it because the process of creating the medicine requires blood of another person, which is forbidden sorcery. So, does it mean you also practice sorcery?"
"I don’t. I use my own blood."
Using one’s own blood in creating a special medicine would shorten the life span of a healer mage. Lauren couldn’t believe this man was betting his everything just for his love who only fooled him. It was a pity.
"I gave her medicine that would last for a while. Without it, she would soon turn into a black mage and run wild."
"What else did you do for her? Were you also the one who made those poisons she used in trying to kill me in the past?" Lauren asked and the question made Alec’s face darken.
"Yes," Sean admitted. He saw no point in hiding it now. He did things blindly in the past because of his love for Eloise. Now that the bubble he created in his head was gone, he realized what mistakes he committed.
"He only deserves to be tortured," Alec said, looking at the man without an ounce of sympathy in his eyes.
"What else do you know about Eloise?" asked Lauren.
Sean shook his head. "That is the only secret of hers I know."
Since the officer seemed to be saying the truth, Lauren stopped questioning him and stepped out of the cell.
"Should I kill him now?" Alec asked.
"Why don’t you let him stay here for a while? I will think about it first. I’m tired. We should go back to the castle."
"He admitted that he was the one who made the poisons your sister tried to kill you with. Isn’t it enough reason for him to deserve some torture?" Alec asked as they walked out of the dungeon.
"I don’t think it is necessary. The pain he’s feeling right now is enough torture," Lauren said.
When they stepped out of the mansion, the moon was shining bright right above them and she knew it was already past midnight.
She took a deep breath and turned to Alec.
"Do you plan to work for the rest of the night?"
"Why do you ask? Are you feeling lonely that you want me to accompany you to bed?" He smirked, but the crooked smile on his lips vanished when he saw a glint of emotion flicker in her blue eyes for a split second.
"Is it alright if you make a portal more than once in one night? I want to go somewhere."